Designing for Emotion: Ch. 1

The topic that stood out to me the most while reading the assigned chapter was on pages 3 and 4 when the author talked about online personality. Before social media, the Internet was a very formal and professional place. Now, people fight, joke and monitor fights between dog and goat Twitter accounts (this is what I did last night). While this does not necessarily have to do with design, I agreed with it the most because it talked about how social networking has changed our Internet.
“The curtain has been drawn back, exposing our humor, grumpiness, concern, stress, and all the other emotions that season our days” (Pg. 4).
Perhaps I like this section because I relate to it the most. I would never post anything malicious or disgusting, but I do use my Internet freedom to update my Twitter account with jokes I deem absolutely hilarious.

One part I disagreed a little bit with, and this was also addressed a bit at the end of the chapter, is the explanation of emotional design. In the book, it seemed the author believes it is always necessary to use, and I definitely agree that people enjoy speaking to people, but I also believe people don’t mind speaking to “robots”. When people have a question or a need, they want answers and solutions. Customers may not be interested in a wager or creating a new friendship. With that being said, I do believe Chris Lindland of Betabrand’s response was appropriate and ultimately, the right route to take. It definitely depends upon the situation and the personalities of all parties involved.